Job satisfaction: when to stay, when to go, and how to know.

At last, the job is easy. You know what to expect, what mountains to stay clear of, and who your lunch buddy is. Work is…predictable.

You have a nagging feeling that change is needed. But against the backdrop of a turbulent international climate, you may be wondering… is now the time to grow deeper roots, or jump to a new lilypad?

Step one in deciding the course of your life is assessing your current job satisfaction. This throws up its own set of micro-challenges. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, satisfaction is the sum total of your basic, psychological and aspirational needs, where your more basic needs must be fulfilled first in order to pursue higher levels of intrinsic satisfaction.

Below, we’ve repurposed Maslow’s familiar pyramid - by inputting the most common attributes of job satisfaction - into a tool that makes the decision for you.

Use our pyramid to tease out what’s missing from your current role, and your priorities for your next one. Here is how you might work through a job conundrum, bottom-up…

• Is ‘coasting’ the same as working in a safe work environment?

• Is job security only achieved through the length of tenure?

• What pay structure gives me the lifestyle and flexibility that I need?

• Is job content more important to me than good relationships with my colleagues or manager?

• Would I accept a lower salary for more authority or the right cause?

• Is the societal perception of my profession more important than my work-life balance?

• Is an important factor missing from the role that I am interested in? Can I influence this?

Mapping out your hierarchy of job satisfaction could help you look for or decide between multiple opportunities. The luxury of choice is an ever-increasing problem that is here to stay.

To find out now about your untapped opportunities, contact us for a complementary and confidential chat with one of our consultants, at: applications@trm-international.com.

You can also check out some of our public job opportunities here: https://www.trm-international.com/blog.

So, should you stay comfortable, reach for the next lilypad, or head to a new pond?